Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) Position Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Otter Tail Co. (NASDAQ:OTTR) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 216,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Otter Tail were worth $16,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Otter Tail in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Otter Tail during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Otter Tail by 132.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Otter Tail by 1,811.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. 61.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otter Tail Stock Down 0.8 %

Otter Tail stock opened at $79.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Otter Tail Co. has a 1-year low of $73.43 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.52.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. Otter Tail had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 22.70%. The company had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otter Tail Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.468 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Siebert Williams Shank raised Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Otter Tail Company Profile

Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets.